Thief claimed he was under the influence of heroin when he stole bike and wheels

Published:16:29Saturday 29 September 2012

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DRUGS were behind the theft of a bike and another set of bike wheels, magistrates heard last week.

Casey Bloom claimed he was under the influence of heroin when he took the items on two seperate occasions in August, Phillipa Chatterton told the court in defence.

On the second occasion, when he removed the wheels from a bike chained up at Boston College, he was coming down from the substance, she added.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, said on August 10, Bloom had taken a bike which was chained up in Boston’s Artillery Row simply because ‘he needed a bike to use’.

He was stopped by police in possession of the bike.

Three days later he went to Boston College and tried to take a bike belonging to a lecturer, but when he could not free it from its chain, he removed the wheels and took them with the intention of selling them for drug money.

Bloom, 21, who was identified by police, handed the wheels in to officers when he was called to the station. He admitted two counts of theft.

Mitigating, Miss Chatterton said Bloom had suffered from a drug problem for some time, adding: “He wasn’t thinking straight at the time because of his serious drug addition.”

On Wednesday Boston magistrates gave him a community order for nine months with a six month drug rehabilitation order. He also had to pay £40 towards court costs.